A large pupil in children quite rightly worries and alarms parents. For what reason does this happen to the child, is there any kind of disease? The primary questions asked by parents. We will examine in more detail why there may be a large pupil in children.
general description
In medical language, among specialists, dilated pupils are called mydriasis. This symptom is not considered a disease, rather, a large pupil in children can be considered a certain symptom. He can indicate the absolute norm or the existing individual pathology. The ability of the pupils to expand and also to contract is determined by the function of the oculomotor muscles along with the eponymous nerve. All people know that too bright light provokes a spasm, and the pupil at the same time reflexively narrows. An insufficient amount of light, twilight, and dimness, on the contrary, contribute to the expansion of the pupils - thus, the eye seems to adapt to the conditions surrounding the person, creating the best for the greatest amount of light to hit the retina.
Light effect
In fact, the pupil of each person is considered the entrance door to the light beam, and how wide these doors are open will depend on the reaction of the human nervous system, or more precisely, the fibers of the so-called third pair of nerves of the skull. If a large pupil in children is formed in response to a decrease in illumination, then there is nothing painful or abnormal in this. So conceived by nature. Parents most often begin to sound the alarm immediately if they see a constantly large pupil in children, regardless of the lighting conditions under which the baby is. Even this phenomenon can be found absolutely normal explanation, which has nothing to do with any disease.
But what are the causes of dilated pupils in a child? What to do in this case?
Causes
The basis for the expansion of the pupils is always the reaction of the oculomotor nerves to the stimulus, which can be external or internal. Physiological, that is, natural factors usually provoke uniform bilateral mydriasis, when both pupils dilate equally. It is possible to distinguish this physiological course of the process from a painful condition by the reaction of the child's eye to lighting. If the pupils do not react to bright lighting in any way, then, most likely, in this case we are talking about some kind of pathology. You should study the main causes of mydriasis - dilated pupils in a child and adolescent.
Physiological
The increased size in the diameter of the pupils in newborns and infants should not be the cause of anxiety for mom and dad, because the baby is just beginning to form visual function. As a rule, after birth, the baby sees the world only with blurry spots of varying intensity. Newborns and monthly children have an important task - rather learn to focus their eyes on objects. He tries to master this skill as soon as possible, since he is interested in everything that happens in the world around him, he learns to perceive and recognize colors.
We continue to consider why pupils in children are constantly dilated. The child’s organs of vision experience a heavy load, and pupil expansion in this case is considered an absolute normal reaction from the autonomic nervous system to various stimuli from the outside, as well as to the internal formation process, proceeding at a rapid pace. If in infants mydriasis persists only up to 3 months, then there is nothing pathological in this phenomenon.
If the child has one pupil more than the other at an older age, then such phenomena can be associated with the fact that in the room the parents carefully created muffled, dim and uneven lighting, which, in their opinion, does not irritate the eyes. If the baby doesn’t walk outdoors a little in the fresh air, and often in low light conditions the organs of vision are loaded watching cartoons, playing games at the computer, there’s nothing wrong and surprising that mydriasis begins to be almost constant. The organs of vision adapt to external emerging conditions of existence.
Norm
Dilated pupils - in what cases is this the norm? The hormonal background can also affect the size of the pupils. For example, during a fright, severe stress, joy, and excessive anxiety, a baby develops different hormones in the body, and the pupils immediately respond to changes in the hormonal background by expansion. So, very often parents notice constantly enlarged pupils in babies at 3 years old or at 7-8 years old. In the first case, most likely, this stress is associated with the beginning of visits to kindergarten, and as for the second - with the loads associated with the beginning of schooling and the growth of emotions.
Why can the pupil expand or contract further? Constantly for a long time, the child’s dilated pupils may be if he is experiencing because of conflicts in his family, disagreements with friends and peers. A child who is in a state of anxiety and excitement for a long time, for example, due to upcoming exams at school or any important competitions, will also have a similar symptom.
Pathological
There are also pathological causes of dilated pupils in humans. So, according to the reactions of the pupil in a person, doctors are able to judge the onset of shock with severe soreness or because of large blood loss. Patients in a coma always have such a symptom as dilated pupils. The least serious conditions accompanied by mydriasis are as follows:
- The use of certain medications, as well as drugs and alcohol.
- Infectious diseases that are associated with intoxication.
- Inflammation in the meninges (for example, meningitis, encephalitis, and many others).
- Traumatic brain injury.
- Poisoning.
- A problem with metabolism (for example, with diabetes and other chronic diseases).
- Eye injury.
- Eye disease (e.g., glaucoma).
- Vegetative-vascular dystonia.
- Epilepsy disease.
- High intracranial pressure, as well as hydrocephalus.
- Tumor process, formations in the brain.
The more frequent reasons for why the child has dilated pupils should be described in detail.
Shock state
Shock can occur not only because of severe pain that the child may experience while receiving any kind of injury, but also due to an overdose of drugs, a severe allergic reaction, significant blood loss. In these conditions, two so-called emergency hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, cause pupil expansion. At the same time, they begin to be produced in large quantities in order to put the child’s body in the “economy mode” in the current emergency. Blood vessels begin to narrow, blood flow slows down, all systems at the same time operate in a gentle, slow mode.
Head injury
Concussion of the brain, bruises and hematomas of varying intensities are in most cases accompanied by mydriasis, while it is unevenly asymmetric when one pupil is slightly larger than the other. Note that the right and left pupils react differently to the test by lighting. This phenomenon becomes possible due to trauma (paralytic state, compression) of the cranial nerves, as well as the center in the brain that regulates the oculomotor nerve. In addition, pupil dilation is a very important diagnostic symptom of brain and head injuries. Additional symptoms can vary from the onset of nausea, vomiting and headache to convulsive conditions and loss of consciousness. The baby necessarily needs the qualified help of doctors if you notice a small and large pupil. The size of the pupils, or rather differences, should not be ignored.
Epilepsy and intracranial hypertension
An attack of epilepsy, as well as intracranial hypertension, causes a malfunction in the functioning of the third pair of nerves of the skull. The diameter of the pupils in this way is no longer just adjustable. At the same time, mydriasis accompanies an epileptic seizure, and is also often a companion of a convulsive generalized condition. Under conditions of increased pressure inside the skull on the cranial nerves, the pressure is carried out for the longest time, systematically, so the enlarged pupil diameter can be a very lasting symptom in a baby.
Toxins and poisons
The most dangerous poison, which is capable of causing paralysis in a person not only of the eye muscle and nerves, but also of the muscles of the respiratory system, is called botulinum. He is also able to get into the child’s child’s body if he uses low-quality canned meat or fish, as well as sausage products. Most of the chemical poisons that a baby can take by mistake are contained in home stocks of various household chemicals left unattended by parents. This also becomes one of the most common causes of dilated pupils in children. At the same time, pay attention to the fact that this is only one of a whole list of symptoms of chemical poisoning.
What else can cause poisoning, which is accompanied by such a symptom? Alcoholic products and narcotic substances, for example, marijuana, cocaine, various synthetic mixtures also have a moderate effect on the cranial nerves. Under the influence of these substances, the children's brain ceases to regulate normally the process of excitation and inhibition of the nervous system, which causes temporary mydriasis.
Medications
Some medications, such as barbiturates, antispasmodics, and sometimes hormones, can also cause pupil dilation in a child. So, the medicine “Prednisolone”, which can be recommended for the treatment of a child with a severe allergic reaction and other ailments, makes the child’s body more susceptible to the substance adrenaline, which, in turn, can dilate the eye pupils. Poisoning with these medications manifests itself not only as a pathologically dilated pupil without reaction to bright lighting, but also by other signs, which include the following: confusion and loss of consciousness, convulsions, drop in blood pressure, vomiting and nausea. In this case, parents cannot wait, it is necessary to provide emergency medical care, as well as call an ambulance.
We have examined the symptoms and causes of enlarged pupils. Treatment of mydriasis should be carried out only after consultation with a specialist. Consider the main recommendations if the child has dilated pupils.
Doctors recommendations for dilated pupils
In most cases, it is common for mothers and fathers to exaggerate the problem of an enlarged pupil or two at once for their baby, according to the famous pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky. However, it is better than they miss and ignore the symptom of some dangerous pathological condition, for example, brain injury or chemical poisoning. In this case, you should not independently try to identify the main cause of constantly enlarged or asymmetrically dilated pupils in the baby. It is best for the child to undergo a medical examination. You need to start it with a visit to a neurologist and optometrist.
Quite often, in order to confirm certain suspicions that a doctor has, a specialist prescribes a child with an MRI of the brain, an electroencephalogram, as well as a biochemical and general blood test, thanks to which you can establish the concentration of certain hormones.
Conclusion
If, according to the results of analyzes and examinations, the specialist says that, fortunately, no diseases and pathologies were found, then parents have no choice but to accept this fact. In the end, the size of the pupils in children can be just an individual feature of an unusual appearance. But this thought should come to the minds of parents in the last place, when their baby has been thoroughly examined by qualified specialists. At the slightest suspicion, contact a medical facility.